Explorations in food, fashion, and fun

urban outfitters

Nah–I’ve just been busy focusing on some of my other interests the past year. (My other interests primarily being stuffing my face with food then running to keep the aforementioned food from getting too cozy in my body.) And, as a writer, inspiration most certainly ebbs and flows. While my figurative cup runneth over with fashion inspiration, my brain lacketh the interest in blogging about it.

To be honest, motivation to return to this blog has been hard to find as I’ve realized I’m a teeny-tiny voice in an ocean full of opinions about fashion, food, and life. What makes my opinions worth reading? Why should people support this endeavour? I’m more confident than ever in the young woman I’ve become, but I’m not sure I have an answer to that question. What I do know is that I’m doing this blog for myself as a form of creative expression, not for the promise of attention or commercial endorsements. (Although, it would be super cool to get paid to write someday! A girl can dream.) Continue reading →

Greetings, friends! And welcome to the new and improved version of Christina’s Best Life! After months of inactivity I thought a new design would motivate me to start blogging again. In the months since starting this blog I’ve found that, while super fun, blogging is a time-consuming undertaking. When I began this blog it was a much-needed source of inspiration at a time when I was disinterested in nearly everything in my life. Since Thanksgiving (which is about the time of my last entry), I’ve taken a more active role in creating my own happiness, instead of expecting others (mainly my husband) to make me happy. With my renewed sense of self-awareness has come an openness toward new experiences (which means I’ve had less free time to blog).

That being said, moving forward, the purpose of this blog will reflect my wider range of interests. While still primarily an outlet for my creative writing, Christina’s Best Life now includes samples of my freelance photography and graphic design work. I also hope that the new design makes my content more accessible for y’all. I mean…you all. (It’s official. the South is affecting my speech.)

Now, onto the more fun portion of this entry–a look at some of my favorite winter-to-spring looks from a recent trip I took to Ohio! Continue reading →

Several weeks ago a friend of mine hosted a farewell party for a coworker of ours who has since moved to Florida. “What a great opportunity to come up with a fun outfit to share on my blog,” I thought. I don’t often feel inspired to mix prints and patterns mainly because I’ve never been confident enough. I’ve also been hesitant to embrace the crop top. I have a curvy tummy so I assumed that crop tops would just accentuate my middle (and make me super self-conscious). I wound up tackling both of these insecurities in one outfit! Not only that but it took me, maybe, 30 seconds to put my top and bottom together.

If sticky humidity before 9 a.m. and crickets chirping loudly at at all hours of the day are any indication, the dog days of summer are officially here in Nashville. It’s not my favorite time of year. Although, does anyone really enjoy having a layer of condensation attached to their forehead as soon as they step outside? I’m really more of a spring and fall kind of gal. This humidity has got me longing for legging and sweater weather. But, in the meantime, why not take pictures by the pool to show of my outfit of the day?

I always thought denim-on-denim was weird. But, a few summers ago, I was inspired to buy the chambray top featured in today’s outfit. Since then, I’ve worn the shirt dozens of times. (An example of one way I’ve worn the shirt can be seen in my “Fashion Throwback” post about my engagement-photo outfit.) Chambray shirts make great cover ups for a variety of different outfits. Also, they’re a lot more comfortable to layer with than a denim jacket.

Summer-Approved Canadian TuxedoI ran errands in this outfit, although it is probably better suited for a day at the mall with friends or movies and ice cream with your boo thing. In addition to the shirt, you may also remember the shorts and headband. They were both featured in “My Shopping Bag” from July 11.

On Saturday, my good friend Chrysa and I attended the Pirate and Rum Festival at Nashville Shores. (Side note–I am so lucky to have Chrysa living in the same city as me. She’s been one of my closest friends since high school. I’m so grateful to be making memories with her as an adult.)

The event was disappointing. The website said that there would samples of “artisan rum drinks” and “island style beers.” Rum and coke is my drink of choice. I was hoping this event would expose me to some brands of rum beyond Sailor Jerry and Kraken. Instead, it seemed like the only rums they had were different flavors of Malibu. We got there around 7:30pm and the lines to the rum and beer sample tents were absurdly long. We would get into a line, wait 20 minutes, grab a tiny sample, get in another line, drink our sample from the previous tent while waiting, grab another sample, etc. It felt like I paid to wait in line.

But, I looked cute doing it!

I wore the orange Urban Outfitters dress I featured in “My Shopping Bag [7.11.14].” It was overcast and in the mid-70s. I layered with a sweater in case in got chillier as the night went on. (It didn’t. I got warmer. I think that was a result of the drinks, not the temperature outside.)

Some gents at the Festival invited us to join them at Three Crow, a bar in East Nashville. We joined them after leaving the event. I shed the sweater and boots and changed into sandals. This was a versatile and comfortable night-out outfit.

The day after my friend Jasmine’s birthday we had a shopping day. Well, we started our day with an amazing breakfast at The Garden Brunch Cafe near downtown Nashville. She ordered the bananas foster pancakes and I order the pecan pancakes. Both were delectable and perfectly fluffy. If you live in Nashville or plan to visit the city I would definitely recommend that you stop here, (Although, I’ve heared that sometimes the wait can be a bit ridiculous. I think we got to the restaurant at the right time. No wait and prompt service.)

Anyway, after a filling and soul-satisfying breakfast we decided to go shopping. Our first stop was Urban Outfitters. It was much smaller of a store than I was expecting, especially since it’s the only location in/near the city. It’s a very well-maintained store, though.

I didn’t find a lot of full-priced items that caught my eye, but I did find several sale items that I ended up buying. I ended up buying an over-sized cardigan (I’ve never owned one before, which is surprising given that I’m originally from northeast Ohio–they’re worn nearly year round there), a neon orange baby doll dress, high-waisted rose-patterned shorts, and a Red Hot Chili Peppers tee shirt for my husband. (All items can be viewed at the bottom of this post.) Continue reading →

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